-LRB- EW.com -RRB- -- In the `` Incredible Burt Wonderstone , '' Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi play world-famous Las Vegas magicians .

Carell wears spangled red velvet and a poufy wig that makes him look like Barry Manilow , and Buscemi sports an even more unreal-looking lanky mop . Each night , they kick off their act by doing a smiley little dance to '' Abracadabra , '' that cheesy-catchy Steve Miller Band classic .

This trademark fanfare places the two somewhere between Siegfried & Roy and the head-bopping Butabi brothers from `` Saturday Night Live , '' and I chuckled , with mild pleasure , at the dopey kitschiness of it . I assumed -LRB- or at least hoped -RRB- that the dance would be a warm-up for the much bigger laughs to come .

Carell 's Burt Wonderstone and Buscemi 's Anton Marvelton have been partners ever since they were childhood geeks who began inventing their own magic tricks back in the early '80s .

They 've been doing their sold-out show at Bally 's for so long now that they 're sick of it , and sick of each other , too . Burt , off stage , is a toxic diva who makes groupies sign contracts and treats Anton like an indentured servant . One night , the two are working with a brand-new assistant , Jane -LRB- Olivia Wilde -RRB- , performing a classic trick that requires Burt and Jane to huddle inside a box , which Anton jabs with swords . Squeezed inside the compartment , Burt asks Jane to sleep with him that night , and when she turns him down , he throws a hissy fit .

It should be an over-the-top funny moment , as Carell lashes out with a faux-aristocratic hauteur . He 's going for a Will Ferrell meltdown , yet there 's something a little too controlled about Carell 's bombastic nuttiness . The effect is n't hilariously insane . Once again , it 's just kind of mild .

` Burt Wonderstone ' : Box office magic ?

`` Burt Wonderstone '' seems to be reaching for the tone of early Farrelly brothers movies like Kingpin , and also for the madcap hostility of Zoolander . Yet in too many scenes , the comedy does n't quite ignite .

The movie rarely climbs out of the chuckle zone , except for a few times when Jim Carrey is on screen as Burt and Anton 's rival , a stringy-haired , tattooed street magician who specializes in cable-TV stunts that represent the new era : He 's like Criss Angel as a Zen pain freak . The gleam of madness in Carrey 's eye finds a perfect home in this role , which has him upping the ante on how far he 'll go -LRB- holding in his urine for 12 days , spending a night on hot coals -RRB- , all as a way to bedazzle jaded audiences .

` Glee ' : Idina Menzel to return

He beats Burt and Anton at their own game , and their act starts to fall apart . And so , in a way , does the movie . Instead of getting wilder , it turns earnest and mushy , as Burt , humbled by failure , starts performing at a retirement home , where he befriends Rance Holloway -LRB- Alan Arkin -RRB- , the cranky magician whose VHS tape first inspired him as a kid .

Burt Wonderstone has a real affection for the world of illusionists , a showbiz demimonde it treats with simultaneous snark and awe . Yet the movie itself is too cautious and unimaginative to bring off what a great magic trick â $ '' or comedy â $ '' should do : make us laugh out loud with surprise . B -

See the original article at EW.com .

CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly

© 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. . All rights reserved .

@highlight

Carell wears spangled red velvet and a poufy wig in `` The Incredible Burt Wonderstone ''

@highlight

Carell and Buscemi play world-famous Las Vegas magicians

@highlight

Their characters have been partners ever since they were childhood geeks

@highlight

`` Burt Wonderstone '' seems to be reaching for the tone of early Farrelly brothers movies